PERKY LEAGUE: Frankenfield powers Trooper past King of Prussia

TROOPER — Counting Friday night, Trooper catcher Drew Frankenfield has exactly two games experience behind the dish, the end product of a situation created by the Tribe’s lack of a proven backstop and Frankenfield’s willingness to play anywhere for the good of the team.

Although he was still flexing his sore glove hand and probably a half-step slower afoot after catching the second of back-to-back games Friday, Frankenfield was none the worse for wear, especially at the plate, where his three-run homer and RBI double helped the Tribe top King of Prussia, 13-11, in a game at the Lower Providence Township Building.

“Brian (Hartsell) and I are the utility guys on the team,” said Frankenfield of himself and the Trooper manager. “We go wherever we’re needed.”

With last year’s catcher John Swarr not available this year, the Tribe has mixed and matched all season. But they may have found a keeper in Frankenfield, a Wissahickon grad who was primarily an outfielder at both Messiah and York, where he played collegiately.

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It’s just a matter of Frankenfield being able to take the punishment that goes along with the job.

Thursday evening, Frankenfield had a relatively easy catching debut as the Tribe dropped a 2-1 decision to Pottstown in a game that lasted a shade over an hour and a half.

Friday was a more typical Trooper home game, with runs aplenty and 20-minute innings the norm.

Trooper broke on top with a pair of unearned runs in the first inning, only to see King of Prussia send nine men to the plate in the top of the second to score five.

Josh Walcoby’s two-run double and Kyle Gaffney’s RBI single were the key hits in the inning for a Cannons team that has scuffled to score runs.

“It was all about getting the hits, which is something we haven’t done lately,” said Cannons catcher Mike Guzik.

Trooper trumped that five-run inning with a six-run home second that saw 10 men come to the plate and featured Frankenfield’s opposite-field three-run bomb.

“I feel real good at the plate,” Frankenfield said. “Not playing in school this year, I came out and knew I’d struggle hitting the ball.

“So I went back to basics, simplified everything with my swing and I’ve been having success.

“I love playing here because I like hitting the ball to right and right-center and you get rewarded doing that here.”

The rest of the game the two teams combined to score in six of the nine remaining half-innings.

The Cannons pulled within 8-7 with single runs in the third and fourth. Trooper answered with two in the home fourth, then extended its lead to 13-7 entering the seventh.

But King of Prussia wasn’t through and scored four times in the top of the seventh and had the potential winning runs on base before Hartsell brought himself on to close, and retired the dangerous Andrew Beshenich on a fielder’s choice ground ball to end the game.

Trooper’s newest catcher was a tad on the tired side. But he was willing to trade it for a win.

“We never seem to have any middle ground here,” Frankenfield said. “Our games either last three hours or an hour and a half.”